Thunder

Does anyone else with H know how to deal with it? I woke up in the middle of the night to extremely loud Thunder and my ears ached and felt stuffy.

 

Plug them up and run and hide?..We've had thunderstorms here over the last week but none were overly loud. Thank God! We're due for some more today and I've been wondering same thing.

 

Actually last week I got caught at railroad stop with train while it was thundering/storming..that was fun!

Thankfully I had protection with me and the thunder never got too loud. Its these little things that make living with h hard!

 

I pretty much have to hide in the downstairs bathroom and plug my ears. That's what I did last night...

 

Thunder is loud, but it doesn't last long. It's the combination of loudness and duration that determines auditory damage. Unless you are outdoors and are practically hit by lightning, I doubt if thunder will harm you. (And if you are hit by lightning, you have other things to deal with...)

 

Noises far below the threshold required for auditory damage have given me long-term (still unabated) worsening of my T and H (the worsening happened mostly immediately afterward and then stayed worse indefinitely). If a noise were actually suitable to cause me proper auditory damage and I were around it, I'm sure I'd be well messed up. I've gotten new tinnitus tones permanently from quick noises that were probably about 90db, which surely could not have caused any damage to the auditory system whatsoever. I don't think damage is required to create a severe, unabating setback in T or H, and I think that's where a lot of the worry comes from. Speaking for myself, at least...

 

My tinnitus "tones" are so chaotic, I wouldn't know how to detect new ones. I think new tones come and go (or stay) all the time.

But I don't pay attention anymore.

 

@demi, you asked if anyone knows how to deal with hyperacusis. There are many ways to not deal with hyperacusis, but just one effective way to deal with it. The good news is that dealing with it pays off for most people who have hyperacusis. The bad news is that in some ways it is easier to not deal with hyperacusis than to deal with it.

The only way to deal with hyperacusis is to be properly diagnosed and to get into treatment for it. If you get into treatment, the bad news is there will still be some dark days ahead. You will almost certainly have setbacks and as tough as a setback can be when we’re not treating the condition, it is considerably more emotionally difficult when we have a setback during treatment. The good news is that if you stick with it, chances are excellent that you will improve your sound tolerance.

Some people with hyperacusis are invested in not dealing with hyperacusis. Instead, they console themselves with the sort of magical thinking that comes from being scared shitless. They tell themselves they can’t be helped, that their case is too extreme, that they are too sensitive to sound, and that they are beyond help and beyond anyone’s understanding.

Demi, your choice is a simple one. You can either do nothing or do whatever it takes to find out exactly what you are dealing with and partner with your doctor to find the best course to take for your needs. I have been struggling with the question you asked me a few days ago. I don’t know if the doctor you asked me about is right for you or not. For starters, any professional who bristles when told that she is speaking too loud for someone who may have hyperacusis may not be well-suited to treating and gaining the trust of someone who suffers from decreased sound tolerance. I also understand she would like you to do Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, but that she has not taken the TRT coursework with Dr. Jastreboff. Even so, it may be well worth your time to talk to her and ask her to explain in detail the approach she has in mind to help you. At the very least, if you have more information, you can make a more informed decision as to whether she is the right doctor for you. (Ultimately, you are the only one who can answer that question.)

If she isn’t the best doctor for you, nothing changes. You still have the option to either do whatever it takes or not. You have every reason to feel boatloads of hope about the auditory problems you face. You just have to decide if you are ready to deal with your challenges head on or not. If you are, then it is immaterial whether this doctor is right for you. If she isn’t, another doctor will be.

@Street Spirit, there are two kinds of pain in this context. People with hyperacusis often experience brief, but immediate pain when exposed to sound that greatly exceeds their tolerance. There is another kind of pain that can last for a day, or for days, weeks, and even months. This pain feels like a nail repeatedly being driven deep into the ear. Both kinds of pain are real and substantial. One may have to do with hyperacusis and one may be indirectly related to it. Both kinds of pain are treatable.

here2help

 

I understand @here2help, I sent her an email earlier today to schedule a meeting. I want to do what I can to help what I am going through, and I guess sometimes while I wait it seems like to post here is a a good outlet for how I am feeling and my worries/concerns. I know that I must be active to get better, and that means finding the right doctor/audiologist. Thank you for the encouraging information, as always. I will update after I finally meet with her.

 

A short time after T hit me a few years ago, hyperacusis joined in the house of misery. It turned all normal sounds into glassy quality & was piercingly hurtful sensation as if my brain being drilled. It was a new horrible sensation to me and my nerve just caved in. What happend? I had no clue. Just panicked to no end and the only way to stop the hurt was to sit in a quiet room or wear ear plugs everywhere I went. But both of these also meant my ultra high pitch T would become so dominant & unbearable. I had to choose the lesser of the two evils but there was no lesser choice.

I posted for help on a former forum and was really blessed that here2help was there to help. He had severe H before and he advised us from his experience. We were told we don't need ear plugs for normal sounds. Over-protection can lead to sound sensitivity. So I listened and the ear plugs were coming off in normal environments with normal ambient sounds. Of course I was prudent to not stand in front of speakers nor go to loud movies. Miraculously, like many people, my hyperacusis just faded away in a few months. Nowadays, I can fly long inter-continental flights or watch cinema movies without ear plugs. If it really gets loud, I just stick in my fingers. I can't say my experience is reflective of others' experiences. But I am one of those who did not need the ENT or audiologists for my H and luckily came out alright after some time.

 

Hi Billie48,

how long did it take to get better? 2monthes, 12 monthes?
I also had terrible H, it took me more that 2 years to get back to "normal".

Greets Tom

 

What did you do to get better?

 

Hi Lapidus,

I listened to music at very low level while I was working and could forget about my ears.
In the first time, I was very anoying of the new "sound quality" due hyperacusis and hearing loss.
But with weeks and monthes it got better and better.
In louder places I always protected hearing, I think this is very important.

 

Yes, that is my approach too. I try to listen to music at whisper volumes but i don't go to places that are too loud for me (which is everywhere) without protection.

 

do you have hearing loss?

 

Nope

 

ok, better without!

 

How do you tell the difference between H and TTTS? Because from my understanding H doesn't always have pain and both distort sound.

 

It is a few years back. My memory is vague on how long it took. I would say within the year it started or a little over for it to be not a concern. I think H is like T habituation. Different people may have different time frame for full recovery. It is most likely that it will get better over time. So need to give time enough time and don't worry about it. I don't remember if I had done anything special to get better besides not over-protecting for normal sounds. Of course I was prudent to not expose to extra loud sounds like those from the speakers. But in general I just remain positive that it will get better over time and went about living my life as normal as possible. With my H, time is the most important healing element.